Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn June 17, 2024, about 1623 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 421C airplane, N245T, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
ADS-B data recorded the airplane as it departed Vance Brand Airport (LMO), Longmont, Colorado, about 1515, and was enroute to Ogden-Hinckley Airport (OGD), Ogden, Utah. Transmissions made to ATC revealed that when the airplane was in the vicinity of Yampa, Colorado, about 1557, the pilot reported a “cylinder temperature issue,” and requested to divert to Steamboat Springs Airport/Bob Adams Field (SBS), Steamboat Springs, Colorado. ATC cleared the pilot for the visual approach to runway 14 at SBS. The airplane overflew SBS, and when queried about his intentions, the pilot initially requested vectors to realign with the airport but then requested to divert to Northern Colorado Regional Airport (FNL), Fort Collins/Loveland, Colorado. About 1609, while flying towards FNL, the pilot reported to ATC that the left engine lost power; ATC cleared the pilot back to SBS for a landing.

Figure 1. ADS-B data showing the accident flight track.
An employee at the fixed base operator at SBS was monitoring the universal communications frequency and reported that the pilot radioed a 4-mile final for runway 16, and shortly after the pilot reported that he was on the base leg for runway 32. At 1622:57, ADS-B data showed the airplane south-southwest of the runway about 825 ft above ground level (agl), heading 051° at 107 knots ground speed. The last recorded ADS-B data point was at 1623:03, when the airplane was about 135 ft agl, heading 040° at 40 knots ground speed.
An airline transportation rated pilot reported that he observed the airplane while it was on the base to final turn for runway 32. He reported that the airplane’s wings leveled momentarily before it made a 60° left-bank turn and then entered a stall/spin in a counterclockwise rotation. The airplane impacted terrain and a postimpact fire ensued. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONA review of the pilot’s logbook found that around March 2021, the pilot stopped making regular entries into his logbook. The last entry was dated December 28, 2021, which only listed the airplane tail number on a local flight for instrument flight rules dual training with no time provided. No further times were logged in his logbook. Using solely the hours logged in the logbook, the pilot had 383.2 total hours with 59.2 hours in make and model. On his most recent application for an FAA medical certificate dated September 13, 2023, the pilot reported having accrued 600 hours, with 10 hours in the preceding six months.
His last flight review in the endorsement section of the logbook was dated July 11, 2022. It is unknown what airplane was flown for his last flight review; there was no ADS-B data avai